Repairing a broken salad spinner

Behold [Quinn’s] broken salad spinner, and just when lettuce and other garden produce are hitting their peak. We were surprised to find out that she was able to get the mechanism apart to fix the broken cord. We’re sick and tired of ultrasonically welded plastic enclosures that lock out the most well-intentioned repairman. But in [Quinn’s] case there were a few plastic plugs hiding the screws that keep the two pieces of the case together.

After diagnosing that the cause of the broken cord was a gnarly metal grommet, she removed the offender and sought a replacement cord. The first material she tried was some dental floss but unsurprisingly it only lasted through a few spins. Next on the road to repair was a shoelace which did a bit better but also ended up broken. But the discovery of some parachute cord did the trick in the end and now it’s good as new if not better!

OK, Kudos on fixing your salad spinner, I liked your write up and your documentation. Given that it looks like a cheap one, I am glad you are considering adding a motor. I can see the point iZsh was trying to make but I went and actually followed the link and read the article. you dug into something that broke and made it better than the original design, that’s hacking.

WHO defines what a hack is? Its just you picky people out there who have their own opinion of how the world should be and try to make everyone else fit that picture! Get over it!

If your really that upset about it go stat your own blog and feature just the hacks you want, but dont criticise others for posting something that only 5% of us will be interested in. YES, im not really interested in this either, but I dont cry, I simply dont click on it and get on with my life in the outside world.

So please leave HAD alone, stop the criticism and just enjoy what they sort and give you all for free or leave please :)

Um… I don’t get it.. In the military we called that stuff “550” cord. It’s rated to hold 550lbs. so.. we tried some floss, then some shoestring, then 550 cord.. Trial and error, and killing ants with an atomic bomb FTW.

@Adam: if she had said 550 cord on hand…why should she bother looking for some – in your mind – better suited cord in some shop? She had it and she used it. Because she could.
I’d like to quote GlaDOS:
“We do what we must, because we can”

“Taking an item and pushing it beyond it’s limits; or, adding new features and improvements to an item; or, modifying an item beyond it’s intended purpose; All in order to achieve an item that fits the need at hand.”

Far too many people have the idea that ‘Hack’ = electronic, microchips, LEDs, wires, solder and hours of writing code. Sorry people, that’s just one way to look at it.

Now look at the content of her article. It was well written, the changes and work was documented in an organized manner, ideas for future changes – INVOLVING ELECTRICITY – were noted. How many hacks these days do we get here with this sort of coverage? I’ve seen plenty that get linked that don’t even have write ups. Give the woman a break.

If you’ve got better, by all means share it, so we the readers can slam you for poor grammar or a lack of documentation or what have you.

@IZish I agree this is weak. I said the same thing 3 years ago when they put up an article about how to put new foam covers on you headphones. I wake up to read articles about hacking because I am a programmer. If I wanted to see kindergarten craft time I would go to instructables and learn how to “Bedazzle” my jeans.

@aztraph yes I did read it. Also note that I’m not criticizing his work or even himself. But because he published stuff in the past that we could relate to hacking doesn’t mean that everything he does is hacking.I’m sorry but if we have to include this as a hack, we’ll have to include almost any home-repair in the world as well.

Also, it’s “funny” how people in here have a tendency to easily try to throw ad-hominem or authority arguments. That remind me of the scientology methods (famous quote from them: “what are YOU afraid of?”). I dont see how it has anything to do with my point. but if you insist you can google my nickname + {iasign,nordumper,iunlock,anysym} for examples… But I re-iterate it’s a pretty stupid way of supporting an argument.

the “Hack” element wansn`t justhe final product in my opinion, but the Mentality (and refusal to give up on getting what you want), that alone makes this a Hack if there was any doubt.
now if you can sort a replacement for old tape decks whos bands have turned to black “bubble-gum” I`d be eternally grateful :)

Salt water fishing leader. Usually the same stuff of braided cable with teflon or plasticoat on it. You could probably get by with some Spectra freshwater line. Parachute cord rocks though! Used it all the time in my youth thanks to my military dad. Also used to love singeing the ends and watching the little flaming bubbles drop :)
Good on you for beating the salad spinner :)

I have seen these before, but never one with a pull string. They aren’t even willing to turn a crank to dry veggies anymore? What if they had to – god forbid – shake it in a strainer with a plate over it? Madness, I say!

Fixing a frivolous unnecessary piece like this instead of coming up with a better and simpler way to dry lettuce is the antithesis of hacking. It certainly doesn’t belong on this site unless it’s driven by a PID-activated motorized turntable. At least make it slightly better than the original, not just exactly the same.

While this is a pretty clever method of fixing something that broke due to cheap engineering, the repair job maintains the original functionality of the device without adding any new features.

IMO, there’s nothing inherently wrong with a project such as this being featured on Hack-A-Day. However, at least in my case, whenever I find myself trying to explain to others what a “hack” is, it’s something along the lines of “modifying a device for a use that wasn’t intended by the manufacturer or adding additional features that increase the usability of said product”. For example, the DIY Table saw (I bet the motor OEM didn’t see THAT one coming!), using FPGAs in numerous applications, puncture-resistant tires using seat belts – hell, even a toaster modified to tweet via Arduino! (though we’ve seen too many of those to care)

And for those that might say “ WELL WHAT HAVE YOU SUBMITTED TO HACKADAY???!?, please, feel free to check out my blog.

Kudos to [Quinn]! Not sure I’d feature the project on this particular site, though.

Come on, guys, forget all the pedantic moralizing about who’s the despotic designator of what’s a hack, and just look at it: it’s a salad spinner! Does that belong on H.a.D or not? Forget the bloody dictionary at home and just put your eyes on the prize, man, this is not electronics! Do I load this site to read about how to repair motor engines or learn Spanish? No. I come here for “the hacking,” for the inventions and the gadgets and the information leading to higher understanding of electronics. Shame on all of you silly gits for defending a principle that DOES NOT EVEN APPLY! As if it matters what the bloody guidebook says, you people are damn robots or something!

Anyone who has any experience with the rewind starters on small engines SHOULD understand why the cord eventually wore out, and broke. No not because of poor engineering. in time the cord wears away enough metal to create sharp edges in the metal that becomes damaging to the cord. The longer the cord lasts the more likely this is to occur. Ever noticed how a long lasting cord will eventually wear a slot in the the harder metal, a slot with sharp edges? The new cord is likely to not last as long because that same thing is going to happen with the plastic the grommet was protecting, but at a accelerated pace, but no matter how long the repair lasts it had that much more functionality. Those with more DIY experience would have looked for a replacement to use for the metal part, but that’s a moot point.

With all of snarky comments above, it seems lost that Quinn actually does real stuff. She has “girly” stuff like a beating pendant but she also does “manly” stuff. I particularly liked her system to record video of herself doing hot laps in a Lotus Elise. A Lotus Elise!! Videos can be found on her website.

Praise and props for sussing and repairing an item designed to be re-bought several times over the lifetime of a consumer. I think I’m not alone in having scads of consumer items that are constructed along these same design philosophies, and re-buying and re-buying items is frustrating (I know, it’s supposed to be soothing to a Western Consumer). To strengthen the weak parts in something and substantially prolong its life is good for the soul. “Shop class as soulcraft”, to cop a book title for a slogan.

have you USED a pull-cord salad spinner? gods gift to those of who manage to get leaves into our gullets (eat plants, mostly leaves, as they say). And in what way could you possibly think that shaking wet leaves on top of each other is an elegant solution compared to a nearly effortless centrifuge? It may not be necessary for human existence, or even for salad eating, but its a damn good design…